I believe that RC generates a user ID which is emailed back to the RC people, who generate an activation code and email it back to the customer. While I suppose this gives them the advantage of being able to authorize each and every installation, I would think that the efficiency of an automated system, such as the Flight 1 Wrapper, would help to not only cut down on the time that someone has to take to generate a key and mail it back to the person, but also gives customers the ability to use the software as soon as it is installed, rather than having to wait for whoever is in charge of activations to send their code.

do you need your key?

Not at all, J.D. Haven't even bought RC. :-) Just commenting on what I've seen concerning your activation system on the forums. I respect your decision on how you've chosen to distribute your product. I just think that you could improve sales by offering a direct download, like things that can be bought from either Simmarket or Flight 1. I believe that even with simmarket, you can still have manual authorization, but allow people to download your program rather than having to wait for a CD.

been through it before with v1 and v2. "it was too big, can you break it up into smaller zips to download". "you have too many small zips, can you make it one big zip for me to download".then the people with bad connections, have a problem downloading it, and they've already paid for it. what a hassle. maybe things have changed. but i lived through that, and i don't care to do it again. look at the delays when something major is released. even the MS servers were a little busy when the CTP December build of Vista came out.if the buying decision is "can i download it" or "not" then it's really not about what it is, or whether it's any good or not, it's more about instant gratification. i suffer from needing instant gratification too. "i want my dell now" or "i want my graphics card now", but it passes.i don't think radar contact and instant gratification go hand in hand.atc is not hard. it's the same sort of things every flight. but you have to read the manual. just like you have to read the manual of these add-on planes. if you "download, install and go" you're going to be frustrated.this way, i make the manual available online. you can download it and read while the cd wings it's way to you. then when you have it, you have a pretty high success rate of having a good first impression.when i have a chance to breathe, i'll look at testing downloads again. i'm not against change, i live for change. but to make a 90 degree turn to change the delivery mechanism, during my holidays, right after a release, is a little much.we already have our list of 4.1 enhancements. that may be a good chance to offer 4.1 as a download, instead of burning more cd's. the only promise i'll make, is looking at the options. jd

Well, we're not trying to crap on your parade, or say "You're a dumbass unless..." or something. (I know some people are like that, but I'm not.) After all, I'm pretty sure you don't make RC because you like the attention. Most people I know that work do so because they like having food and a roof over their head. You might like your work, but at the end of the day, you do what pays the bills. Bandwidth is not cheap. I work for a computer school, and right now we are looking at internet delivery of our course content. I'm in charge of the development of the software and servers we'll be using to do this. In our case, we don't have the benefit of a unique product like you do - We all sell the same knowledge. If more than one of our competitors (or just one major competitor) gets a decent web-delivery system working before we do, they can concievably put us out of business, and definetely harm our ability to turn a profit. It's a very cut-throat business, so we have a bit more motivation to go to online delivery than you do. On the one hand, it drops our delivery overhead through the floor, so we make more profit, which means we can drop our prices and undercut the competition - but on the other hand, if people start pirating our content all over the place, we've just shot ourselves in the head. There's a lot of really great benefits, but an equal number of really great pitfalls. There's not much middle ground, at least not that we've found yet. It's definetely not a decision I would encourage you to rush into. There's a lot of really great technology out nowadays that can make it a lot less trouble than it used to be, but a lot of the big fundamental pitfalls like piracy and compatibility are still there. (If you could find a 100% solution to one of those big problems and sell it, you would be a very rich man indeed!)

>Programs like Active Sky, and the Leveld 767, and Ultimate>Terrain, have raised my enjoyment of flying MSFS far beyond>what they cost. RC4 is definitely in this same league.And there is still FS2Crew for the Level D to come early-ish next year Yes, the level of realism has gone up by leaps and bounds this last year. Where will it be five years from now?Martin

Selling through the Flight1 Wrapper system gets by all the problems. They even have a download manager program for their system so even dialup users can get it, it has built in antipiracy devices, their servers can handle anything (UT USA is over 1 GB in size for example), it's definately the most convenient method for the customer too. I have no intention of purchasing RC until it is sold in a download format, I don't feel like having to pay for the packaging, shipping, customs and taxes. I doubt I'm alone in that, but if you want to limit your business I guess that's your choice. I hope you consider changing your mind in the new year :)

<>Oh, but you're missing the point. There are all sorts of opportunities for the sort of instant gratification that so many crave these days.Firt, you DO get to spend your money. You just hit a button and WHAM, your credit card gets a direct hit and you will experience that rush of power and accomplishment that comes with conspicuous consumption.Then, soon, you will get an e-mail confirming your purchase. That will remind you of the deed and you will get to relive the moment...again bask in the ecstacy of spending.Then, sure, you have to wait a few days but that will just create a build up in expectations that will be vastly more powerful than if you have to wait only a few minutes for a download. You will get yet another rush...for the same expenditure...and one that is significantly safer than sniffing aerosol products.Very few complain about the "download only" developers not offering a CD version but look at all the second wave rushes that they cause us to have to forego.So RISE UP flight simmers and begin to demand CD's from ALL developers!(-:

><willing to wait 3-4 days.>Is all about making it as easy as possible and enticing spend>our $$$$$$$.>None of us really need any of these addons.Or lifes do not>depend on them. They are pure pleasure and enjoyment.>>>>Oh, but you're missing the point. There are all sorts of>opportunities for the sort of instant gratification that so>many crave these days.>>Firt, you DO get to spend your money. You just hit a button>and WHAM, your credit card gets a direct hit and you will>experience that rush of power and accomplishment that comes>with conspicuous consumption.>>Then, soon, you will get an e-mail confirming your purchase.>That will remind you of the deed and you will get to relive>the moment...again bask in the ecstacy of spending.>>Then, sure, you have to wait a few days but that will just>create a build up in expectations that will be vastly more>powerful than if you have to wait only a few minutes for a>download. You will get yet another rush...for the same>expenditure...and one that is significantly safer than>sniffing aerosol products.>>Very few complain about the "download only" developers not>offering a CD version but look at all the second wave rushes>that they cause us to have to forego.>>So RISE UP flight simmers and begin to demand CD's from ALL>developers!>(-:>You left out one. Some add-ons, when they come in direct download version, charge you again when they release the CD version of the same program.. You get to pay twice to get the CD... Now that's really a rush :-outta

I have been thinking of purchasing this but have two questions if anyone can help: (i) is it really approriate for GA flying and (ii) does playing the sound files interrupt the cpu cycle or cause any stuttering as FS atc sometimnes does? I'm assuming you do not need to be online as well.Many Thanks

i) if your GA flights are via a flight plan, yes. rc is atc.ii) if you have an onboard sound setup (ie, no sound card), then i suppose some cpu cycles are going to taken from fs9 to play the wavs. if you have a sound card, it shouldn't be a problemjd

Waiting patiently for downloadable version. Please do that, me and many others will be very happy. I am 110% conviced that I want it, just don't want to import it from US via snail mail and pay double with taxes, VAT and whatever if I am not lucky.

Edited for spelling.Rayed,Please don't wait for a downloadable version because that may not be possible. Now that the Christmas post rush has finished it should take less than a week to reach Europe (I'm guessing as you've not disclosed your location) and you'll have your key in a few hours after requesting it.The price on the web page is the price you pay. The CD is given a nominal value of 1 US dollar so no additional taxes will be payable.What's a week when you'll then have the best ATC program on the market?Cheers,

Packing and Shipping is included in the price.

I don't understand why you say a download copy isn't possible? Why? What makes it different from other addons that you can't distribute it in the format many of us prefer? If you want to limit your business, go ahead I suppose.